And you know what that means . . .

It’s time for another round of Fit Friday fun, and boy are we going to have some fun today!

Today, I thought I’d we’d have ourselves a short, sharp, total body workout  that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 15 minutes – with or without equipment, totally your call!

Get in, get it done, and get on with living!

So, here’s what we are going to do, a descending ladder workout which simply means we will start by doing 10 reps of each exercise and decrease 1 rep per round until you get down to 1.

For example –

Round 1 we do 10 reps each, then repeat the entire sequence through doing 9 reps each , then 8, then 7 all the way down to 1!

We will do – click here to see exercise demos/workout with me –  ;

♦ Squats
♦ Lunges
♦ Push Ups
♦ Glute Bridges
♦ V-Ups – or sit ups/crunches

The aim here is to move from one exercise to the next with minimal/no rest in between – That being said, I want you to listen to that beautiful body of yours and rest as needed.

Anytime you feel like you need to take a break to catch your breath and grab a little drink then by all means please do so, and take all the time you need. However, if possible try to wait until you get to the bottom of each round to do so but, do what you gotta do, OK?!

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective workout that is guaranteed to leave you feeling strong, energized and ready to take on the rest of your day!

Although it’s totally not necessary, simply using your body weight alone is challenging enough but,  for our fully functioning or more advanced lifters who might be wanting kick things up a notch feel free to grab yourself a weapon of choice – a set of dumbbells, kettlebells, your EmPack,  resistance bands or a combination would work. Just make sure you choose something appropriate for your strength but, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.

But remember, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

– 15 Minute –
No Equipment

Total Body Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now for our smoothie recipe . . .

How does a subtly sweet, secretly healthy, creamy, dreamy sugar free salted caramel choc chip almond butter crunch shake sound?

You guys, this smoothie . . .

It pretty much tastes like salted caramel soft serve mixed with choc chip almond butter cookie dough!

And, it also happens to be seriously good for you!

Sugar free, packed with protein and loaded with gut healing goodness, not that anyone would ever know! I won’t tell if you don’t!

It’s luscious, creamy, seriously dreamy, spiked with a hint of cinnamon and choc full of choc chips!

And, I should probably mention that not only does our creamy, dreamy, dessert inspired smoothie taste like straight up heaven in a cup but, it also happens to be vegan, dairy free (if you want) , gluten free, BANANA FREE, DATE FREE, sugar free, low carb, keto and paleo friendly!!!

So much to love I tell you and love it you will!

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yourself while you refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours on this fabulous Friday.

Sugar Free Salted Caramel Choc Chip Almond Butter Crunch Shake

Ingredients –
Makes 1

1/2 cup vanilla  yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of your choice)

2 Tablespoons of almond butter – powdered or regular

1 teaspoon of sugar free caramel creamer – can sub caramel stevia, 1-2 pitted dates or your fave kind of caramel sauce

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon before you speak coffee – or regular cinnamon
I love the extra oomph the cinnamon before you speak coffee adds – use EMS10 to get 10% off if you want to try it

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency.

Optional add ins;

1 Tablespoons of melted dark chocolate to swirl your glass  – pure happiness

1 teaspoon of maca – for hormone balance

1-2 scoops of collagen – for gut healing goodness

1 scoop protein powder  – for extra protein (I think vanilla or unflavored would work best here)

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your blender and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with toppings of choice.

Enjoy xo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go and remember ;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

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Question of the day –

What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine)! Go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring, remember!

Do it, do it. You know you want to

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